Who's The Best Draft Pick In The Gibbs 2.0 Era

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by irish

Anybody that even remotely follows college football can make a good pick in the 1st round, what the Skins dont have is that core of 2nd, 3rd & 4th round pick that really make up the foundation and depth of a successful team.

Just to pile on - Let's look at just the top 10 picks from 2005 (2006 still kind of early to call anyone a bust) -

1 Alex Smith San Francisco 49ers BUST
2 Ronnie Brown Miami Dolphins
3 Braylon Edwards Cleveland Browns
4 Cedric Benson Chicago Bears BUST
5 Cadillac Williams Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6 Pacman Jones Tennessee Titans BUST
7 Troy Williamson Minnesota Vikings BUST
8 Antrel Rolle Arizona Cardinals BUST
9 Carlos Rogers Washington Redskins
10 Mike Williams Detroit Lions BUST

You might dispute a couple of those, but even if you take just the certifiables (Smith, Benson, Williamson, M. Williams) - that's a 40% failure rate in the TOP TEN. Number 1 picks are no gimmes - and while I agree that depth is built by finding serviceable players in later rounds, successful teams find successful number 1's.

In one of my preseason mags they broke down the league wide "success" rate of picks made after round 1 and it was pretty low. We are talking players still playing for the team that drafted them more than 3 years after the draft. It was less than 20%.